ot - computer related question

[Kin Lau]

okay... easier way to check.

Just open up a Command Prompt, and then type "chkdsk c:".

It'll run it in Read-Only mode, but at least you'll see the messages.

 

[back alley]

ok, that worked, sorta.
it showed me the there is a problem messege and told me to re do the chech disk but with the fix added.
i did that and the same thing happened as before.

i think it's time to call one my computer nerd buddies in.
i'm over my head...

many thanks for the education guys.
joe

 

[kmack]

this memory test is beyond my meager skill level.

if i have it right i need to put what i download onto a cd and then run it from the cd, not from my hard drive, is that correct?

i don't suppose there are any memory tests that i could just click on from a website?

i will have to upgrade to 512 soon too.

joe

No memory tests that I know of.

I doubt it is beyond your skill level, it is just beyond your comfort level at this time 😉

From your later posts, it may be moot, sounds like the problem is the disk.

 

[back alley]

so many questions!

i am using a dell computer with a pentium 4 processor. i have 2 gigs of memory, with lots of it empty. running windows xp home edition. ram, i think, is 256 and it will only take another 256. it's a desktop.

thanks for all the help guys.

joe

not that it matters now but i just realized some of this is wrong.

it is...
pentium 4
2 ghz speed
40 gigs of memory - half used/half free

joe

 

[Doug]

What you're calling "memory" above is hard drive space -- storage. This is where all your files, documents, and applications are kept. Memory is RAM (Random Access Memory), and this is what software launches into to run. What helps confuse one with the other is that both are measured in the same units; Kb, Mb, and Gb (Gigabytes).

40 Gb is a reasonable amount of storage for a laptop, and is relatively modest these days for a desktop machine. Especially if you want to keep digitized photos there too...

 

[back alley]

the deed is done.

my very (five year) old computer now has all the ram it can handle.
it's a paltry 512 but it seems to be making a bit of a difference.

my main concern was the larger files in photoshop.
i just finished playing and photoshop did not freeze or do anything nasty.

the computer seems to start up a bit quicker and rff is nice and quick.

real or imagined, time will tell.

joe

 

[JoeFriday]

hmm.. if you were running less than 512 mb of ram before, you'd definitely see an improvement in adding more.. Windoze doesn't work very well with less than that.. and Photoshop is obviously a memory hog

 

[back alley]

i had no complaints till i started making larger files in photoshop.

the beauty of low expectations i guess.

joe

 

[kiev4a]

There is a huge difference in performance between 256 megs and 512 megs. I recently upgraded from 512 to 1 gig and I don't really notice that much difference except when dealing with really large Photoshop files. I think 512 is sort of the "sweet spot" on most relatively modern machines.

Hard disks are so cheap now. I have two 80 gig drives and a 120 gig. I remember back in the late 1980s paying nearly $500 for a 20 MEG drive and thinking it was a deal (one I really couldn't afford).

 

[Doug]

Glad to hear of noticeable performance improvement! But it just keeps escalating; in 5 years you'll look back and wonder how you managed to do anything useful with only 256 megs of RAM! But then the first IBM PC came with only 16k of RAM, and my current Mac is limited to 8 Gigs of RAM... "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!"

 

[kiev4a]

I think my first Commadore VIC 20 came with 1.5K ram--about enough to type in a 100 line program in basic.

 

[Kin Lau]

I think my first Commadore VIC 20 came with 1.5K ram--about enough to type in a 100 line program in basic.

3.5K. I remember sitting typing code from a magazine so I could play a game... then saving it to a tape. I think my watch and my phone has more memory than that now 🙂.